Earth-handling machine.



W. F. BRUNT.

EARTH HANDLING MACHINE, APPLICATION FILED MAY31, x913.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS Ca. PHOTO-LITHOH WASHINGTON, o r

W. F. BRUNT.

EARTH HANDLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1913.

L1 34,2540 Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET Z.

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IHE NORRIS PE rERs 50., PHOTO-Linton WASHINGTON. D C.

W. F. BRUNT.

EARTH HANDLING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYSI, 1913.

1 11, 3%,2549 Patented. Apr. 6, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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WILSON F. BRUN'T, OF HAMMOND, INDIANA.

EARTH-HANDLING MACHINE.

Application filed May 31, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILSON F. BRUNT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hammond, in the county of Lake and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Earth-Handling Machines,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in earth-handling machines, andhas reference more particularly to a new and improved machine for use inconnection with the excavation of ditches and trenches for sewers, andthe like.

The machine of my present invention is designed to operate above thesewer or trench being dug, and to elevate the spoil and deliver itlaterally of the ditch or trench. Themachine is not an excavatingmachine in the sense that it cuts or scrapes up the earth from the ditchor trench, which forms the principle of operation of many excavatingmachines; but it simply serves to facilitate the disposition of thespoil from a manually dug ditch by providing a receptacle into which theexcavated matter may be readily shoveled by the workmen, and a chain ofbuckets or scoops passing through said receptacle by which this matteris raised above the surface and delivered at either or both sides.

The machine is characterized, as to its chief structural features, bythe provision of a main frame or platform supported on fore and afttrucks which straddle the ditch or trench, and one or more spoilreceptacles and endless bucket-carriers so mounted on the frame thatthey may be bodily raised and lowered to the desired height, accordingto the depth of the ditch or trench being dug, and may also, whenelevated, be swung angularly to a position in which their lower ends areabove the surface of the ground, so that the machine may be readilytransported from one place of operation to another. In the preferredform of the apparatus, herein shown, two such spoil receiving andremoving devices are provided, one adjacent to the forward end and theother adjacent to the rear end of the main carrying frame. The mainframe also supports a motor with actuating connections therefrom to theendless bucket-carrier or carriers; this motor, where two suchbucketcarrier or carriers are employed, being located between the two.Each endless Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

Serial No. 770,914.

bucket-carrier delivers the spoil to a laterally-extending horizontalcarrier that well overhangs one side of the machine frame, so as todeliver the spoil well outwardly of the side of the ditch.

My invention, its construction, mode of operation, and advantages, willall be readily understood when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one practicalembodiment thereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of themachine. Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof. F 1g. 3 is a rear elevation.Fig. at is a cross section through one of the endless bucketcarriers andits supporting and tilting mechanism. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail,showing the immediate driving mechanism of the endless bucket-carrier.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the ditch or trench that isserved by the machine, the sides thereof, where formed in sand or loosesoil, being maintained from caving in by boards 11 spaced by struts 12(Fig 3). Straddling this ditch and operat ing lengthwise thereof is theearth-handling machine. The main supporting frame of the machine is askeleton structure composed of a series of cross-beams 13 andlongitudinal beams 14: extending above said cross-beams. This mainsupporting frame is supported by fore and aft trucks comprising yokes 16secured to the under side of the frame and carrying front and. rearwheels 17 and 18, respectively. The forked members of the front yokewhich carry the wheels 17 are swiveled in the main horizontal members ofthe yoke, as shown in Fig. 1, to permit steering, as hereinafterdescribed.

Adjacent to each end of this main supporting frame are mounted a pair ofearthelevating devices which, as to their structural features and modeof operation, are substantially duplicates, so that a description of onewill suffice for the other. Upon and crosswise of the two intermediatelongitudinal beams 14 is journaled a shaft 19 (Figs. 3 and 4), fast onwhich are a pair of vertical guide-bars 20. Slidably engaging theguide-bars 20 is the supporting frame of the endless bucket-carrier,said frame, as herein shown, comprising a pair of parallel oppositelypositioned T-bars 21 rigidly connected at their upper and lower ends toframes 22 and 23, respectively, in which latter are journaled the upperand lower sheaves 24 and 25, respectively, over and between which istrained an endless belt 26 carrying on its outer face a series ofbuckets 27. To the lower frame 23 is attached a boot 15 into which thedirt is shoveled by workmen in the ditch and through which the buckets27 pass continually picking up and'elevating the dirt.

The bars 20 merely support the bucketcarrier laterally, the weight ofthe bucketcarrier frame and bucket-carrier being supported by a cable28, one end of which is attached to a collar 29 on the shaft 19, whileits other end is wound around a Windlassdrum 30 loosely mounted on theshaft 19, and having fast on one end a spur gear 31 that is'engaged by apinion 32 on a shaft 33 actuated by a Windlass-arm 34. The cable 28,between its point of attachment 29 and the drum 30 passes over a sheave35 mounted on the bottom frame 23, and'the Windlass-drum 30 is lockedagainst unwinding by a pawl 31 engaging a ratchet 31 on the face of gear31.

As shown in Fig. 5, the upper sheave 24 is formed with acentralxsprocket-wheel 36 that drivingly engages a sprocket-chain 37attached to the innerface of the belt 26'.

On a pair of transverse ways 38' are mounted cross-conveyer frames 39carrying endless cross-conveyer belts or aprons 40 suitably mountedthereon and projecting laterally of the main machine frame, each of saidframes being secured to its support 38 as by bolts 39, and itsoverhanging end being supported from the main frame by a strut 41.

The bucket-carriers and cross-conveyers are both driven from a motor 42,preferably a gas engine, that is mounted substantially centrally betweenthe ends of the main frame. The engine shaft 43 carries a pair ofpulleys 44, each of which drives, through a belt 45, a pulley 46 looseon an intermediate cross-shaft 47 and drivingly connected thereto by aclutch 46. sprocket-wheel 48 that, through a sprocketchain 49, drives asprocket 50 fast on one endof the upper sheave 24, saidsprocketchain=49being guided over idler sprockets 51, 52 and 53. Thecross-conveyers 40 are likewise driven from the intermediate crossshaft47 through mechanism comprising a bevel pinion 54 on one end of shaft 47engaging and driving a bevel pinion 55 on a way-shaft 56 that is mountedin bearings 57 on the main frame, and carries at its outer endasprocket-wheel 58 engaging and driving an endless sprocket-chain 59trained over inner and outer sprocket-wheels '60 and 61 fast with thesupporting pulleys 62 and 63 of the cross-conveyer belts 40. The latterare herein shown as delivering the spoil to one side of the machineonly; but if it is desired to deliver to the opposite side, this- Onshaft 47 is a may readily be effected by removing the bolts 39,slidingthe conveyer-frame along the supporting way 38 to overhang theopposite side, and similarly securing it in place. To effect thereversal in the direction of drive of the bolts 40, the bevelpinions 55may be withdrawn from the shaft 56 and reversed by simply removing thecaps of the bearings 57 and raising the inner end of shaft 56sufiicientlv to clear the pinion 54.

The vertically operating bucket-carriers, after being raised by theWindlass 30, can

be tiltedto the dotted line positions indicated in'Fig. 1 so as totransfer themachine to another place of operation by mechanismcomprislng a worm-wheel 67 fast on the a fixed post or stake a suitabledistancein advance, the cable being wound up from time to time on thewindlassby its operating handle 72. I

On the forward en'd'of the platform'is 'a steering-wheel 73, thesteering-post 74 of v which is connected by links 7 5' and 76 to theforks 16 in which the front wheels 17 are mounted after the fashion oftheordinary well known automobile steering-gear; and, for convenience intransporting themachine from one place of operation to another, I

provide a yoke 77 attached to the front wheel forks 16 to which a pole78 may be pivotally hitched, to accommodate a team.

The machine is shown in working position by full lines in'Fig. 1.Workmen operating' with shovels in the ditchor trench 10 shovel thedirt, sand or other spoil into the boot 15 from which the spoil iselevated by the buckets 27 and dumped onto the cross-conveyers 40, bywhich latter it'is de-' livered off at one side of the machine. Where apair of hoisting conveyers are employed, as herein shown, the forwardconveyer is somewhat shorter than the rear conveyer and is ordinarilyset at a'somewhat higher point, so that the forward conveyer elevatesand removes thedirt in the upper portion of the ditch or trench beingdug, while the rear conveyer similarly elevates and delivers the dirt inthe lower portions thereof. Asthe digging of the ditch or trenchproceeds, the machine is shifted lengthwise thereof by the Windlass 7 0,to best accommodate the workmen in the ditch.

Whenever it is desired to deliver thespoil to the'oppo'site side of theditch, this may readily be done by loosening the fastenings 39 of thecross-conveyer frames 39, removing the strut 4C1, shifting the conveyorframes lengthwise of their supporting ways 38 so as to overhang theother side of the machine, and then refasten the conveyor frames bysimilar bolts inserted through holes 39 at the opposite end of the way88, and applying the strut 4:1 to the other end of the conveyer frame.

When the machine has completed work upon one ditch or trench, and is tobe transported to another place of operation, the bucket-conveyers arebodily raised by the windlass 30 until their lower ends are at or nearthe top of the ditch, and are then swung to the inclined positions shownby dotted lines in Fig. 1 by the worm 68 and worm-gear 67, until theirlower ends are clear of the surface of the ground. The cable 71 is thentaken in, a team is hitched to the pole 78, and, by manipulation of thesteering-wheel 73, the machine is guided and directed, under the draftof the team, to its new place of operation.

The apparatus of my invention is particularly useful in connection withthe excavation of deep sewer trenches, and the like, wherein therelation of the depth to the width of the trench is such that it is verydifficult or impossible for the workmen in the trench to manually throwthe soil out of the trench by their shovels. As hereinabove stated, theapparatus is not an excavating machine in the sense that it directlycuts or otherwise digs the soil from the ditch or trench, but it isdesigned as an auxiliary to the manual digging of comparatively deepditches, trenches, or like excavations. By making the main frame orplatform in the skeleton form shown, it is possible to carry thereon andlower therethrough any material or materials such as sheet piling forretaining trenches, and the like that may be used in connection with theditch or trench being dug. It will be manifest to those skilled in theart that the minor details of the apparatus may be more or less variedwithout involving any departure from the principles involved orsacrificing any of the benefits and advantages of the invention. Hence,I do not limit the invention to the exact device of the apparatus shownand described except to the extent clearly indicated in specific claims.

I claim 1. In an earth-handling machine of the.

character described, the combination of a main frame, a shaft having itsends journaled in said main frame, a pair of longitudinal guides eachembracing, keyed to, spaced apart on, and extending in a direc tion atright-angles to the axis of said shaft intermediate the journal supportson said shaft, a bucket carrier frame including two members T-shaped incross-section with their center legs placed adjacent and opposite toeach other on either side of said shaft and between said guides, andadapted to slide upon and within said guides, a drum rotatably mountedon said shaft between said guides and one of the journal supports forsaid shaft, a flexible member trained around said drum, secured to it atone of its ends and having its other end secured to the lower end ofsaid bucket carrier frame, and adapted to be rotated independently ofsaid shaft to raise or lower said bucket carrier frame with reference tosaid main frame, and means for rotating said shaft to adjust the angleof inclination of said T- shaped members.

2. In an earth-handling machine of the character described, thecombination of a main frame, a shaft having its ends journaled in saidmain frame, a pair of channelshaped guides each embracing said shaft andkeyed thereto with the legs of said guides adjacent to each other andslightly spaced apart on said shaft, the flanges of said members beinglocated adjacent to each other on each side of said shaft and extend--ing in a direction at right-angles to the axis thereof, and a bucketcarrier frame adapted to slide upon said guide members including a pairof members T-shaped in cross-section, spaced apart on either side ofsaid shaft, with their middle limbs extending toward each other betweensaid channel shaped guide members and having their flanges adapted toslide upon the adjacent flanges of said channelshaped guide members,

means connecting said T-shaped members together, and means for raisingand lowermg said bucket carrier frame wlth reference to said shaft.

WILSON F. BRUNT. Witnesses SAMUEL N. POND, MARY M. LEPPO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

